Safety device for elevators



( M l.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. t G. H. REYNOLDS.

SAFETY-DEVICE FOR ELEVATORS.

No. 545,981. Patented Sept. -10, 1895.

3 Sheets-Shet 2.

(No Model.)

G.H.REYNOLDS. SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELEVATORS. No. 545,981. Patented Sept.10, 1895;

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet a.

G." H. REYNOLDS. SAFETY DEVICE .FOR ELEVATORS. No. 545,981. PatentedSept. 10', 1895.

lln'rrao .Sra'IfEs Parana Erica.

iEoEeE H. REYNOLDS", OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,.AssIeNoR TO THE ORAFE ELEvAToECOMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SAFETYA'DEVICE FOR ELEVATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part or Letters Patent No. 545,981, datedSeptember 10, 1895,

Application filed March 11, 1893.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE I-I. REYNOLDS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and usefullmprovements in Safety Devicesfor'Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of safety devices for elevatorapparatus in which clam ps carried by the cage are caused to engage theguides; and my invention consists in con structing the parts so as tosecure increased efficiency and certainty of action, as fully set forthhereinafter, and as illustrated in the ac companying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a front elevation of an elevatorcage provided with myimprovements. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the guides in section. Fig.3 is aside view; Fig. 4, a detached view of a block-actuating shaft Fig.5, a sideview of one of the clamp-brackets; Fig. 6, an end view of oneof the clamp-brackets Fig. 7, a face view of the governor. Figs. 4,5, 6,and 7 are drawn to an enlarged scale.

To the platform bar or bottom of the cage or platform at each side issecurely connected the guide-bracket A, which, as shown, is in the formof a heavy casting having at the outer side a vertical groove to toreceive the web of the guide B, secured as usual within the well, thecage moving up and down upon and between the two guides. As the bracketA is for economic reasons made of cast metal and as the bracket isweakened by the groove 00, I compensate for such weakness by extendingtwo cross-bolts 7 7 through the bracket directly behind the groove, asshown.

It has been common to make use of cams and clamps, wedges, &c., carriedby the cage and to cause the same to engage the faces of the guides toclamp the cage to the guides in case of accident, or to preventaccidents by arresting the cage when the speed is unduly accelerated.When wedges are employed, dependence is placed uponthe frictionalcontact thereof with the guidesto insure the clamping effect, and when,as sometimes occurs, the wedges slide upon the guides they do not acteffectively. When cams are arranged to grip the guides, they present butlimited bearingsurfaces and are apt to wound the faces of the Serial No.165,611. (No model.)

guides and difficult to disengage when the cage :must be released. Toobviate these objections,

I provide each bracket A with a recess or the bracket is otherwiseconstructed to support at one side of the groove 0a a clamping-block C,

and I employ means for forcing the said block into said groove andagainst the adjacent face of the guide, and also for lifting it so as tosecure a positive wedging effect. I secure these movements and actionsof the block by means of any suitable mechanical devices preferablyemploying a rack and pinion for raising and depressing the block and acam for forcing it toward the guide, so that there can'he certainty asto the action of the block and so that a broad bearing-face is presentedand a powerful clamping effect secured without danger of wounding thefaces of the guides.

A preferable arrangement is that shown in the drawings, where a shaft10, having its bearings in the bracket A, carries a cam 11, that is inposition to bear against the flat outer face of the block and force thelatter toward the slot when the shaft is turned, while a rack 30 uponthe outer face of the block engages a pinion-section 12 upon the shaft10. As the block isforced away from the shaft 10 by the action of thecam 11 when the block is lifted, it is necessary to make use of a blockhaving a vertical rack 30 and of a pinion-section of a curvecorresponding to that of the cam, as shown, or the pinion may have itsteeth on a circularline, in which case the rack would be inclined. Whilethe shaft' 10 may be rocked positively by means of suitable devices incase of an accident I prefer to turn it so as to cause the block toengage the guide by means of a spring suitably 'arrangedas, forinstance, a coiled spring bearing at one end upon the bracket A and atthe other upon the side of an arm 15, extending from the shaft 10and inorder to hold the clamping-block out of engagement with the guide I makeuse of a detent engaging the shaft 10, or, as shown, the arm 15 thereof,the detentbeing a lever or finger 17 upon a rock-shaft 16.

Any suitable means may be employed for rocking the shaft 16 or movingthe detent in case of the cage attaining an undue speed. I prefer,however, to make use of a governor of any suitable character which, whenit exceeds a certain speed, will'move the detent. Thus the governor Dmay consist of a revolving disk carried by the cage, and, as shown inFig. 7, provided with a pivoted arm 33, against which bears a spring 34,tending to throw it inward, and from which projects a finger 23 inposition to travel across the face of a shoe 21 upon a sliding shaft 20,which is thrown inward by a spring 22 and which is connected to one armof the bell-crank lever 19, the other arm of which is connected by a rod18 with an arm 32, extending from the shaft 16. A standing cable fixedat its ends to eyebolts at the top and bottom of the well passes roundguide-pulleys 24: 25 and around the grooved periphery 26 of the governorD, so that the latter is rotated as the cage moves up and down. If thespeed is excessive, the governor-arm 34 swings out and the lip 23strikes the shoe 21, forces out the rod 20, and raises theconnecting-rod 18 and rocks the shaft 16 to carry the detent-finger 17away from the arm 15, when the spring 14 will rock the shaft 10 and theblock 0 will be forced against the face of the guide and simultaneouslylifted and wedged between the guide and the eccentric face of the cam11.

In order to readily release the clamp when it is necessary to start thecage, I provide the bracket with a recess above the top of the block O,or otherwise provide a bearing 9, preferably inclined, so as to receivethe inclined face of a wedge Y, (dotted lines, Fig. 6,) which wedge,when driven forward, will force down the block and relieve the partsfrom the binding action and rock the shaft 10,carrying the arm 15 beyondthe engaging shoulder of the finger 17, when the latter will resume theposition shown in Fig. 5 and again lock the parts in place.

While the shaft 10 may extend completely across the cage or platform andhave a cam and pinion at each end, I prefer to use two independentshafts 10, each operating by an independent spring, so that in case oneclamp is not operative the other will be operative, and while there maybe a governor to each clamping device I prefer to use a single governor,as shown, connected to operate both detents, as a result when the twoarms 17 are carried by one shaft 16.

It will be seen that in the operation of the the clamping device abovedescribed the springs that actuate the clamp-blocks O by forcing thelatter against the guides secure in the first instance a certain amountof friction and resistance, and that these springs also carry the blocksupward, so as to force them and cams toward which they are also carriedby the frictional adhesion of the blocks to the guides, which co-operatewith and aid the effect of the springs, and that said springs, further,by turning the cams at the same time that the blocks are lifted byfrictional contact with the guides facilitate the clamping operations.

Without confining myself to the precise construction and operation ofthe parts shown and described, I claim 1. The combination of a cage,guides, a clamp block for engaging each guide, means for forcing theblock toward the guide as it moves longitudinally, and a rack andpinion, and means for turning the pinion to impart the longitudinalmovement to the block, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the clamp block, having a rack of a shaft havinga pinion for engaging the rack and a cam for engaging the block adjacentto the rack, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a clamp block, a rack and pinion for lifting theblock and a cam arranged to bear against and force inward the block,substantially as set forth.

4. The combination in an elevator cage and guides of a clamp block and ashaft having two portions, one arranged to engage the block to lift thesame and the other, to engage the block and force itinward,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination in a clamping device for an elevator cage, of a blockprovided with a rack, and a shaft provided with a cam and a pinion,substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of a cage, clamping blocks, independent shafts andconnections whereby each block is moved longitudinally and inward on theturning of its shaft, a spring arranged to turn each shaft, a detent forholding each shaft in its position and means for disengaging the detentssubstantially as set forth.

7. The combination with the cage, guides, clamping blocks and actuatingdevices, and detents, of a governor consisting of a rotating diskprovided with a radially moving finger, a shoe arranged in position tobe struck by said finger when the latter moves outward,

tents, substantially as set forth.

GEO. H. REYNOLDS. Witnesses:

TODD MASON, E. NEMETT.

and connections between the shoe and the de-

